The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 11: Better Call Paul

Paul had not thought that he would have to stroll underneath the watchful eye of the Enforcer station so soon after the Mallister case, but after having a moment of clarity after Josy left him the evening of the trial, Paul began putting the pieces in place for his next play to further his career.

As he strode through the double doors, he could immediately feel eyes fall upon him. Paul did not know what the general view of him was after the trial, but he paid their silent judgment no mind, as he had a very specific reason for gracing them with his presence. As he approached the front desk, he noticed the same bored young man slouching behind it, but as he noticed Paul, his eyes flickered slightly with curiosity.

"Ah, Mr Goodbrook. You know that you've become a bit of a celebrity round here?" Asked the young man, slightly nodding to the pockets of enforcers that were gathered in the main hallway, who's gaze snapped away from Paul as he turned.

"I didn't know for sure, but I was expected word to spread sooner rather than later." Replied Paul with a smile.

"It sure has. Lots of us were surprised for sure. Both with Mallister being put on trial and that he lost...no offense." Explained the young man as he became self-aware of how the last part sounded.

"None taken." Placated Paul as he dove into his bag, brandishing out several forms, causing a slight look of disappoint to fall over the young man's face. "Now the reason for my unexpected visit can be found here." Explained Paul as he slid the forms over the desk towards the young enforcer who inspected them closely, before his eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Pneumatic delivery system? In...here?" He queried as he looked around the foyer, as if he was trying to paint the picture that Paul had offered him.

"Precisely. As you can see, it's been approved by the council, but it will allow anyone that is detained here to actually have the means to deliver their one permitted message to someone of use, whilst keeping them within the confines of the station." Explained the lawyer as he looked back to the young enforcer. "And they can remain under guard the whole time, from the holding cells to the delivery slot."

"And that's been approved by the council?" Asked the young man, to which Paul nodded in response. "I'll still have to run it by whoever is finalised as the Sheriff."

"Well, who's in the running?" Asked Paul as he leant an arm onto the desk to lean in closer.

"It will probably end up being Deputy Marcus who gets the badge. It needs to be confirmed but, in most cases, the deputy is promoted to Sheriff." He explained.

"Marcus, eh?" Asked Paul, his mind going back to his prior discussions with the deputy, wondering if this was his plan since he first saw Paul outside the Sheriff's office.

"Most likely. I think crazier stuff has happened in the past, but from what I know, it's normally a simple ladder to the top."

"Understandable. So, would you mind running this by him now then? I need an estimate for this as I have a few expansion plans in mind that are reliant on this system getting up and running, I'm sure you understand." Explained Paul, trying to sound as friendly as he could.

"I'll see what I can do, but If I had to guess, it shouldn't take more than a week. The delivery slots should be finished within a few hours of starting, so the main thing will be incorporating the tubes into the preestablished network." Explained the enforcer.

"Well that makes sense, and I thank you for the information." Explained Paul as he made to leave, before being pulled back by the voice of the enforcer.

"The announcement of the new Sheriff will be made publicly within the next few days, so when you hear it, come back up here and whoever is at the desk can provide you with an update or give a chance to chat with whoever the sheriff ends up being."